- The Washington Post has suspended journalist Felicia Sonmez amid an uproar after she tweeted out a link to a 2016 Daily Beast article about Kobe Bryant's rape case just hours after he died.
- She also publicly defended her move on Twitter before deleting the now-viral posts.
- Tracy Grant, managing editor of the Post, said that Sonmez has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into whether her tweets violated the "newsroom's social media policy."
- Journalist Matthew Keys said a source at the Post told him Sonmez's managers cared less about her tweets and more about the screengrabs of her email inbox, which she shared on Twitter, displaying the full names of her critics. The Post declined to comment on this.
- Social media users are in two camps: some believe Sonmez deserves not only to be suspended, but fired. Others are questioning the Post because they believe this move sets a dangerous precedent.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
The Washington Post on Sunday suspended Felicia Sonmez after she landed in hot water for tweets posted following Kobe Bryant's fatal helicopter accident.
The 41-year-old NBA legend and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant were among nine people on a private Sikorsky S-76 that was flying amid foggy conditions in California when it crashed and burst into fire, killing everyone on board.
While the sports, political and business worlds and Lakers fans grappled with Bryant's death, Sonmez tweeted a link to an April 2016 Daily Beast story titled: "Kobe Bryant's Disturbing Rape Case: The DNA Evidence, the Accuser's Story, and the Half-Confession," Mediaite reported.
Sonmez received tremendous blowback, including death threats and abuse, she said on Twitter. The Post's national political reporter responded with a follow-up tweet that has since been deleted:
"Well, THAT was eye-opening. To the 10,000 people (literally) who have commented and emailed me with abuse and death threats, please take a moment and read the story - which was written 3+ years ago, and not by me. Any public figure is worth remembering in their totality even if that public figure is beloved and that totality unsettling."
She continued: "That folks are responding with rage and threats toward me (someone who didn't even write the piece but found it well-reported) speaks volumes about the pressure people come under to stay silent in these cases."
The backlash continued, prompting Sonmez to post yet another tweet, which said in part: "If your response to a news article is to resort to harassment and intimidation of journalists, you might want to consider that your behavior says more about you than the person you're targeting."
Amid the furor, Tracy Grant, managing editor of the Post, told Insider that Sonmez has been placed on administrative leave amid an investigation into whether her tweets violated the "newsroom's social media policy."
"The tweets displayed poor judgment that undermined the work of her colleagues," Grant said in a statement.
Journalist Matthew Keys subsequently reported that a source at the Post told him Sonmez's managers cared less about her tweets and more about the screengrabs of her email inbox, which she shared on Twitter, displaying the full names of her critics. Such a move could have legal repercussions, he said.
When asked whether Keys' reporting was correct, the Post's public relations team said they had nothing else to share.
Although Sonmez has now deleted all her tweets, some Twitter users have screengrabbed the now-viral posts and continue to respond with disgust.
There's now even a Change.org petition demanding Sonmez be fired that's picked up nearly 180 signatures. That appears to be a popular sentiment on social media, too.
Others, some of whom are journalists, questioned the Post's decision, calling it "bizarre" and "cowardly," and questioned whether it was appropriate to suspend Sonmez.
Someone has even created a Twitter page, titled "Official Felicia Sonmez Defense Account."
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